Gurman: foldable iPhone coming 2026 at the earliest

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is back with another report on the long-rumored Apple foldable device. According to the man himself, Apple is readying “а giant iPad that unfolds into the size of two iPad Pros side-by-side”. That device is in development and due for a market launch around 2028.

Early prototypes of Apple’s foldable have progressed on the hardware front with a nearly indistinguishable screen crease. As per Gurman’s sources, Apple is set on a screen size approaching 20 inches when fully expanded. The actual size of the display could be 18.8-inches as per a leaked Apple display roadmap from earlier this month.

Schematics from Apple's patent on hinges for folding display devices

The device is said to be similar to what Microsoft had envisioned with its Surface Neo and what Lenovo did with its Yoga Book 9i. The main hardware difference is that Apple wants to have a single, uninterrupted screen without any visible hinges on the front for a more seamless experience. That sounds a lot like the ThinkPad X1 Fold from 2022.

Apple’s first foldable will most likely launch with iPadOS or a slightly modified variant of that OS. While Apple seems to be going all in on its foldable iPad, Gurman also detailed Apple’s plans for a foldable iPhone, which is not expected to launch before 2026.

Foldable iPhone DIY project from 2022 (Tech Aesthetics)

We’ve seen previous reports indicate that Apple is looking at a flip-style device akin to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip series. This neat DIY project from over two years ago shows what that possible folding iPhone may look like.

Source (paywall)